Money Management

Few people who wager on sports are long term winners.  Some are poor handicappers who fail to do sufficient research before making a wager; however, the top reason that handicappers lose is because of poor, or nonexistent, money management.

To be successful at sports betting, you must realize that if your bankroll is gone, so are you.  Set yourself up with a reasonable bankroll at the start of the season and wager accordingly.  Resist the temptation to bet beyond your bankroll and you will be able to make more wagers, win more (or lose less) and enjoy the season without the pressure to win before you rip through your bankroll.

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To win at sports betting, you must:

(1)    Pick winners.  No matter how carefully you manage your bankroll, you must ultimately pick more winners than losers.  Nothing will help you to survive the NFL season if you do not make winning wagers.  Nothing!  Handicapping the NFL takes time, so if you think you can make your picks after Sunday's breakfast, be prepared for disappointment.

(2)    Have more than one place to make a wager, more commonly know as "outs," among sports bettors.  I can't tell you how many times a ½ point is the difference between winning or losing.  Shop the line, get the best deal for your money.  It adds up believe me.

(3)    Effectively manage your bankroll.

You can do an average job with handicapping or line shopping and still be standing at the end of the season if you use decent money management.

You must define your bankroll. This is money you are prepared to lose and not have it adversely affect your life.  The bill collectors won't start hunting you, the house payment or rent won't be overdue and the bills still get paid even if you lose the entire bankroll.  Not everybody starts out with $50,000 - so don't skip money management if you have a small initial bankroll.  Apply the same money management to a $500 bankroll as you would to one of $50,000.

Wager a percentage of your bankroll on each game.  I use 1% - 5% as a guideline, which are indicated on my selections.  One unit, or (1*) is a 1% wager and so on up to 5%, which is a rare play for me.  Some years I don't even have a 5% play.  I consider it  a serious wager because it is such a large part of my bankroll.

Continue to wager 1%-5% of your bankroll per play until it either increases or decreases 10%.  If your bankroll is increased, or decreased by that amount, it is time to re-size your wagers.

For example, if you start with a pretty hefty $5,000 bankroll, a 1% wager is $50, or in our business $55 to win $50; 2% would be $110 and so on up to the largest 5% wager that would be $250.  You can play more aggressively and use 2-5% as a guideline, which would make your minimum wager on a 5K bankroll $110 and the maximum $500.  Just remember that while there is a greater reward in using an increased percentage, there is a greater risk of going broke as well.

Suppose you go on a winning streak and the increase your bankroll  to $6,000.  After resizing, your new 1% wager is $60 (or $66 to win $60).  Not a large difference, but enough to increase your winnings over the course of time.  Remember, we are in this for the long term.  In the alternate case (losing streak), suppose your bankroll dwindled to $4,000.  After resizing, your new 1% wager is $40 (or $44 to win $40).  This will keep you from going broke and allow you to stay in the game.

The one thing you can do to short-circuit your money management is to play parlays.  I hear lots about how you can hit 52% and still make money playing parlays.  Believe me, the landscape is littered with would-be handicappers who were parlay players.

It's the opinion of the most knowledgeable sports bettors that parlays are for suckers; I agree.  Stay away from them at all costs.  If you think you can win playing parlays, you are mistaken.  Instead of actually making those wagers, just keep a notebook of the parlays you would have actually played and the amount.  Add them up at the end of the year and see how much you saved by not playing parlays.  Take out an envelope and send half to me!  I'll give a more detailed explanation on why parlays are for suckers in the near future, so look for it on these pages.

As always - Good Luck,

Sonny